After 27 years on the east coast, I moved west to try desert living and the Las Vegas lifestyle. Here, I share why I love my new life in this fabulous city.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Christmas in Florida

Brad and I fled the "cold" Nevada temperatures for warm sunny Florida for Christmas. We stayed with my family and enjoyed a quiet and relaxing vacation filled with good food, story telling, and laughter.

We golfed at Bardmoor for 3 days. Brad got to try out his new wedges, and I got to use my new driver (how did I ever live without this club in my bag?). The course was extremely challenging, though it was hard to get too frustrated golfing in 70-degree weather in shorts on Christmas day.

On Saturday night, we drove across the bay to Tampa to eat at Bern's Steakhouse. We stayed at the Sheraton downtown which overlooked the Hillsborough river and the University of Tampa and its spires (which were unfortunately not lit up).

Bern's is a legendary steakhouse in Tampa (Wine Spectator Grand Award winner for every year they've handed out the award). The inside looks like a bordello, but that adds to the history and character of the place. We split a delicious porterhouse that was cooked just perfectly. We also had an amazing Bordeaux at an unbeatable price. This restaurant is a gem if you can focus on the steak and wine and overlook the rest of the food (bland French onion soup, julienned carrots of a questionable fragrance, uncooked soufflé).

Bern's is known for its extensive wine collection with 6,800 labels and 500,000 bottles (largest in the world?), and a tour through the wine cellar did not disappoint.